Surfing into summer

This weather is amazing! Today I tried going for a semi-surfer type look, something that is nice to wear throughout summer. It isn't something that will keep you overly warm during winter, but it works great in the warmer parts of the year. The shirt is Billabong purchased in Whangamata and honestly I have no clue what the price was. I would say $20-$30. The pants are from RPM and again cost some moneys and the jacket is also RPM and cost some moneys. The shoes are Vans from Ripcurl for $30 bucks (mega bargain) and that was from one of their outlet stores. The beanie is Factorie for $15 bucks. The surfboard is amazing.

This is an outfit I would wear to go out during the day as well as at night if I was going to some less classy clubs.

Casual Uni Look

Lets kick of summer (well, summer weather) with an easy outfit. This is what I wear out when I really have no inspiration or else have to rush out. The t-shirt is Huffer and I bought it at uni, it has AU's motto on it and I think it was $20 on sale. Actually I think they through it in with a singlet I bought for $20. How cheap is that? The pants are chinos from Hallensteins and I think I got them for $30? The red is a risky colour I find, mainly because I have quite a few red t-shirts that I can't wear with them, and bright red is tricky to style. The shoes are Converse. That's a joke, I could never afford real Converse so these are Venice (some brand) and I got them from Number One shoes in Auckland for like $15 bucks. No one has ever called me up on them or mocked me for having fake Chucks, so don't be scared to buy mainstream stuff. Brands are cool, and I have some great stuff from Billabong, Nike and Ripcurl. But honestly no one has ever complimented me on my brand choice, if they have anything to say its either "I like that design on your shorts!" or else "Why would you buy a grey t-shirt?". I think having some branded clothes is good but in the time you save up for that ILU jumper or high top Vans you could buy both a jumper and a pair of Vans look a likes from a mainstream shop like Hallensteins or Glassons.

The colours work in that sort of primary school way, when bold colours where cool. The hat is from Billabong ($30) and that was expensive but I was going through my 'I am a surfer and this is my lifestyle" phase so I thought if I buy from Billabong I will be automatically a surfer. Turns out thats not true but it's still a cool hat. Also I'm trying to grow my hair out long and it's in an in between phase so I like to cover it up. If it's cold I would pair chuck a hoodie over the top, but I only have zip up ones at the moment and they aren't slouchy enough for me. But you can experiment. Also the scooter is back! I've had some troubles with the back tire but apart from that I encourage everyone to buy a scooter, I spend $7 bucks on it a week and can go wherever I want! I was spending $30 a week on the bus, which was late 90% of the time and that was only to uni and back once a day! So if you factor in work (2 buses), friends places and sports games I would be spending over $50 bucks a week on the bus!

Making a comeback

Hey guys, we're making a comeback!

We realise we have been... absent for sometime, to put it mildly. This is due to mis-matching schedules (it takes 2 to do a photoshoot) and general disinterest in winter clothing. I personally prefer summer, the season my wardrobe is geared up for.

However, we do have some great stuff coming. We are just organising a time and place to do a lot of shooting and we will go through at least 5 outfits so we have some photos archived to keep some form of regularity from here on in. We also realised that we have finite clothing so to get some diversity and market to a wider audience, we are looking to bring in a couple of extra 'correspondents'.
We want to have a segment where our girlfriends try to dress themselves in our clothing and turn it into something chic, which is something they both agree lots of girls would enjoy. I reckon they just want to go through our clothes but whatever makes them happy. If you reckon you have some outfits you want to show off, why not send them to us? Send me an email at giacomo.gambassi@gmail.com with your photos and a brief description and we will definitley feature it on our blog and Instagram account (@mopedmen).

So as it heats up down here in New Zealand, you can expect much more activity in the coming weeks and months!

-Giacomo

Sick of Winter? Me too.

Fuck winter.

There I said it. Gianni reckons winter is the best season, because of all the fantastic fashion opportunities it creates. Coats, scarves, boots, pants, the choices are endless.
But this comes at a cost. Cold is a downside, but in New Zealand we have a bigger problem.

Rain.

Rain is only good if you are a farmer. Actually that's not true, quite a few people in Africa will disagree with that statement (UNICEF please don't kill me...). But if you are a student who rides his scooter to and from uni everyday, then rain becomes a problem. "What jeans do I wear today?" Does it matter, they are going to be ruined in 5 minutes regardless!

Whatever, lets look at some clothes.

 This is me at my peak, as white as humanly possible. Also no beard = looking like a child.
The pants are reasonably cheap, from memory I think they were $40 from Hallensteins. The t-shirt is actually a thermal my friend gave me, and one of the only shirts that can make me look (slightly) buff. The jacket is my usual, warm and comfy. Scarf is also Hallensteins and the boots are Gianni's (#stolen). Its a warm outfit that I wear often to uni. This is an outfit that I reckon would look good with longer hair and more facial hair, but live and learn.

Now lets play a game: Compare my skin colour to the deck railing above my head.

*Looking fly for a white guy.

How to successfully start a blog, and then lose your audience

Well, now I'm sure we have lost everyone who was reading our blog.
Two weeks without a post was it?
Some would call that disgraceful. Others would sympathise and realise that we are both teenage boys; A byword for reliable, motivated, sensible and most importantly finish everything they start.

Oh wait...

So lets clear somethings up.

1) We will not post regularly.
I (Giacomo) work two nights a week, have soccer practice one night and uni til late the other two.
Gianni is the most unmotivated thing you will ever meet (even blankets have more motivation to do stuff) so employing his photography skills on a regular basis is impossible.

2) It may not all be classy clothes.
We both realised that we are not super rich, don't have sponsors and thus our wardrobes (although fabulous) are not that extensive. This means our fashionable outfits will be limited. Therefore we will be throwing 'normal' outfits once and a while.

3) We won't be the only models in the blog.
My best friend is super keen to get involved with the blog, and Gianni is getting pretty sweet on a girl so maybe a chance to portray some girls fashion ideas? I don't know, we will see.

Please be patient.

So for today's post I will show you the new shoes I bought!

I bought these boots for a school ball Gianni and I attended recently (for all you Americans, school ball is like prom). I think our next post will be what we wore to the ball.

These shoes are actually pretty comfortable. I lie, after a three hour dance floor challenge my feet were dead.

The points of the shoes got a bit scuffed when I tried to be clever and told my ball date to dance on my feet, but overall I really like the classy look they give. I seem to have to extremes with my shoes; either they are super casual like sports shoes or Chucks and Vans, or they are shoes like this. Nothing in between.

#FIRSTWORLDPROBLEMS - Come on Giacomo, get over it.

Stay tuned for the outfits Gianni and I wore to ball, as well as a soccer inspired outfit (for the FIFA U20 world cup).

We went to the opening game today, check out the photos on my facebook page - Giacomo Gambassi.

                                                                       Peace out!

An apology

Hi guys and girls,
Sorry we haven't posted in the past few days.
We have both been really buried under assignments so making new posts was at the bottom of both our priorities. Expect a new post either later today or tomorrow, but in the meantime check out the playlist 'Acoustic Spring' on Spotify. The music in this playlist has been getting Giacomo through his University work lately so a great mix for the studiously challenged.

https://play.spotify.com/user/spotify/playlist/6NCfeirBIrZfYcs9kwnS3x

These are some photos Giacomo took after his soccer game on saturday. If you play near the sea, what better way to finish with a swim? In WINTER??? We think he's crazy too. But nice scenery.

Keep your friends as tight as my pants

Today's classy look is brought to you by Gianni. The polo and coat are from Hallensteins while the boots were purchased from Hannah's. Chinos from Huffer and the scarf is from Barkers and Gianni likes to think that paired with the coat it adds an air of maturity and trustworthiness you would not normally receive from a teenage boy. The boots are very comfortable and for only $100 they are definitley a bargain, although the set back is that we can only find them in brown, so unfortunately if you like wearing bright block colours they may not be for you. We encourage trying baggy jeans with the boots as well. 

Polo shirts are often tricky to make popular, as many New Zealand boys wear them as school uniform and never want to see another polo again after getting home from school. Despite this we urge people to wear polos, as they add the formality of a collar which you get from a button up shirt while retaining the comfort of a t-shirt. A great choice for people going out for a night on the town, where collared shirts are a must but collared shirts are often too thin and cold.

Giacomo was reading (and we have no idea how he found it) an article in Vogue magazine about the fashion trends set to come back for the winter of 2015/2016 in the U.S.A. The most prominent trend he found was that big coats such as the one Gianni is wearing will be a staple piece of a fashionable man's wardrobe next winter. Unfortunately we live in New Zealand and at this very moment we are going into our winter, so our choices are to either launch ourselves into these trends early and pretend we are original with our fashion style, or else to wait until next year to imitate this trend. We have opted for the first option, as a coat is a great way of looking stylish and classy while still keeping warm and relatively dry when the winter weather sets in. Hallensteins (I know, we are a bit obsessed) is doing some great deals on coats at the moment if you would rather not pay the astronomical prices the designer brands charge. Topshop (which recently opened in Auckland) also has some nice coats and jackets if you don't mind paying slightly more.

                                                                  Polo: Hallensteins
                                                                 Chinos: Huffer
                                                                   Boots: Hannah's
                                                                  Coat: Hallensteins
                                                                     Scarf: Barkers

*Leave us a comment if you can think of a certain type of outfit you would like to see, for example a date night or party outfit.

Abercrombie & 'Steins'

This is Giacomo's go to university outfit and you can see why. The pants, although not always the most flattering are very comfortable, and black is very versatile. He bought them from Hallensteins for about 30 dollars and has found they can be worn with everything from t-shirts and singlets to button up shirts and even with a turtle neck once (that was a weird day though).

The t-shirt is from Abercrombie & Fitch and the nautical theme it gives is perfect for summer with a pair of shorts and jandals.

The jacket (Hallensteins) is surprisingly warm, especially with the wool hood, but doubles as a light jacket when the weather is warmer. The shoes are Nike Roshe knockoffs from Hallensteins as well and are very comfortable. Overall the theme of this outfit is keeping it easy, comfortable yet not too slouchy.

Let us know what you reckon we could do to improve this look, we did consider using chinos instead of crotch-drop pants.

Moped Men

Hello, we are two stylish Italian brothers with a moped and (hopefully) good fashion sense. This is where we will post our daily outfits, as well as all our fancy dress ones. Gianni is 16, loves his hair and prefers classier clothes. Giacomo is 19, often sports a what looks like a bad attempt at a beard and prefers more casual, sporty outfits. Have a read and send us your comments regarding what you think of our fashion sense, as well as any outfits you think we would like and maybe we can put them on our blog.